Just Born Inc

For 45 years, Bethlehem, Pa.-based Just Born Inc. uttered little more than a peep about its flagship brand. Until now. Battling increased competition in the candy aisle, the 75-year-old company is airing its first-ever TV commercial for Peeps, the marshmallow bunnies and chicks that have graced Easter baskets for generations. The ad, geared toward women 25 to 49 years old, is scheduled to run on ABC, CBS and several cable channels through Easter.

The pair's split, like many high-profile break-ups, has been public and messy. Mike and Ike, a staple at movie theater concession stands and grocery store check-outs, called it quits. The announcement came through the candy's Facebook page last week, and also announced on Tumblr and Twitter. "Yes, it's true," the announcement read. "We should have seen it coming. " Oh, the made-up heartache. With the stunt, the candy maker, Just Born Inc., which also makes Peeps and Hot Tamales, is pumping $15 million into a year-long advertising campaign, a spokeswoman confirmed -- a big jump from 2011 when the company spent $125,000 on advertising.

Friends no longer give me wine, roses or perfume. They give me Peeps, those sugar-coated marshmallow candies. Three years ago, I would have considered any such present tacky. Peeps were those cheap, tasteless, yellow chicks that turned up every Easter. Nobody ate them, certainly not I. Then one day, I saw a blue bunny lying in a box on an office counter used for giveaways. It was sort of cute. Long ears, a pretty color--a delicate azure, as I recall. I ate it, having no idea that it was a Peep.

We're not really sure why Sunday is referred to as “Easter.” It'd be so much more accurate to refer to it as “The Day Everyone Eats Far Too Many Peeps.” We kid. After all, that name probably applies to most days for many people. The colorful marshmallow sweets have been around for decades, and according to Just Born Inc., the private company that makes them, they're more popular than ever. The Bethlehem, Pa., business also makes Mike & Ikes and Hot Tamales, but it's the Peeps that have become a cult hit. This season, there are new Peep products, including packets of four chicks delivered on a Popsicle stick and a chocolate-mousse-flavored version dipped in chocolate.

Eight miles south of the White House, a crowd gathered under a giant inflatable yellow chick Thursday to welcome the nation's first emporium devoted to Peeps, a fluffy marshmallow candy that has attained cult-like status. Most of the store's Peeps-branded products were inedible. So is the candy, critics would say. "There's something mystical about Peeps," said Matthew Beals, a New York filmmaker who has shot a 45-minute documentary about people obsessed with the spongy bunnies and chicks.

Sugarcoated Marshmallow Peeps chicks and bunnies have proved a habit-forming treat for Easter candy buyers over four decades, but manufacturer Just Born Inc. still considers itself in a race for sugary survival. So the company is hatching strategies to boost sales year-round.